3V Christmas Carol

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

by Charles Dickens

3V December 2021

A Christmas Carol

Web Quest

You are going to find out a bit more about Charles Dickens and about A Christmas Carol. 

Step 1: Click the link in the document  (part 1, 2 and 3)

Step 2: Look up the answers to the questions and write them down. 

Part one

1. 7 Februari 1812 
2. A) Queen Victoria                  B) The Victorian Age
3. A) 1838       B) 1843                C) 1855           D)1861

Part two

• 4. Britain changed: more industrial, more power overseas, population grew and moved to the cities. 
• 5. Poverty, poor housing, ill health, a horrifying level of child mortality, hunger, long hours of grinding labour

Part three

• 6. Beyond his personal reasons for writing "A Christmas Carol," Dickens felt a strong need to comment on the enormous gap between the rich and poor in Victorian Britain.
• 7.  It touched many people and was very popular.
• 8. it helped Christmas become established as a major holiday in Victorian Britain

Some background information

• Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. 
• When he was twelve, his father was imprisoned because of personal debt. 
• Charles was withdrawn from school and forced to work in a warehouse that handled shoe polish to support the family. 
• This experience was of great impact on his life and career. 
• After his father's prison release he returned to school.

New words

Have you heard of these before?

Part four - video assignment

Watch the video, then answer question A-B-C-D.

Part four - video assignment

A) Being able to forgive - Vergiffenis

B) Redemption - redding/aflossing 

C) A stave is a chapter in A Christmas Carol. If you look at the title of the book, you can see the significance of the chapters being called "staves." Dickens is acting as if the book is a Christmas carol, and each chapter is part of the song.

D) Jacob Marley, Ghost of Christmas past, present and future.

Part five - speaking

Work in pairs. You will get a speech card (A or B) from your teacher. Complete the gaps by asking each other questions.

Do not show your speech card to the other person!!

Reading  - STAVE ONE

1. Humbug  - to indicate bad behaviour or nonsense
2. Negative - "A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December! Be here all the earlier next morning."
3. To warn him that he will be visited by three ghosts. 
   Jacob Marley has to wear chains because of his behaviour during life. He says that Scrooge can still escape this fate.

Reading - STAVE TWO

Write about your favourite 
Christmas memory. 

- 50-100 words

- Use past tenses

Reading - STAVE THREE

1. The future (if nothing changes).
2.  A) Fred pities Scrooge B) Bob is respectful of Scrooge 
   C) Mrs Crachit has a lot of resentment towards Scrooge

Stave 4

1. Past, Present and Future – The Threat of Time. ...Family. ... Greed, Generosity and Forgiveness. ...Christmas and Tradition. ...Social Dissatisfaction and the Poor Laws.
2. No, Spirit! 
3. The Ghost of Christmas Past represents memory. The Ghost of Christmas Present represents generosity and good will. The Ghost of Christmas Future represents fear of death.

Stave 4

• 4. Personal choice 
• 5. He can still make some changes!
• 6. Old Scrooge: Grumpy, Lonely, Selfish, Greedy
•      New Scrooge: Considerate, kind, joyful, generous

Complete the crossword puzzle!

Crossword puzzle - Key

3. Fred                                       1. prison

4. Covetious                           2. Dickens

6. Chains                                  5. Ebenezer

8. Workhouse                         7. Humbug

10. Marley                                 9. Spirits

11. Sinner

Enjoy the film!